Michelle Bailat-Jones’s Fog Island Mountains, Winner of the First Christopher Doheny Award, Now Available for Preorder at

Michelle Bailat-Jones’s Fog Island Mountains, Winner of the First
Christopher Doheny Award, Now Available for Preorder at Audible
Author Receives Inaugural $10,000 Prize, Established by Audible and The Center
for Fiction, for Excellence in Fiction or Nonfiction on the Topic of Serious
Illness
Business Wire
NEWARK, N.J. -- August 7, 2014
Audible, Inc., the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable
audiobooks and other spoken-word content, today announced that Michelle
Bailat-Jones’s debut novel, Fog Island Mountains, is now available for
preorder at Audible.com. The novel is the recipient of the first-ever
Christopher Doheny Award, established by Audible in 2013 in conjunction with
The Center for Fiction in memory of Christopher Doheny, a longtime Audible
employee who died at age 31 of cystic fibrosis. The novel, chosen from among
60 eligible submissions and a shortlist of eleven finalists, will be produced
in audio by Audible Studios, and will also be available in print, ebook and CD
versions via Tantor Media on November 4.
In Fog Island Mountains, a South African expatriate living in a small town in
Japan must face a terminal cancer diagnosis. His wife, trying to hide from the
truth, flees and then commits a grave infidelity. Narrated by the town’s
oldest storyteller, the novel shines a light on actions committed in grief,
and explores storytelling as a form of healing. Debut author Bailat-Jones is a
translator of French literature and the reviews editor for Necessary Fiction;
born in Japan, she currently lives in Switzerland.
“Audible is proud to be a part of the publication of this deserving novel,”
said Beth Anderson, Audible EVP and Publisher. “Chris Doheny was a writer
himself who loved reading, discussing and working with good books, and we’re
confident he’d be happy that this fine work of fiction is the first recipient
of a prize honoring his memory.” Anderson served as a judge of the prize on
behalf of Audible, along with acclaimed writers Dani Shapiro, Meghan O’Rourke
and Ann Hood and Audible Director of Editorial Merchandising Diana Dapito.
“I’m incredibly honored that my novel was selected as the first winner of the
Christopher Doheny Prize, and I’m so happy this new award now exists to
highlight the work of those who are writing their way through issues of
illness and grief,” said Bailat-Jones. “Thank you so much to Audible and The
Center for Fiction for their support, and my greatest thanks go to the late
Christopher Doheny for his vision and the anonymous role he played in bringing
Fog Island Mountains to publication.”
“As many of us at Tantor knew and admired Chris, we’re honored to publish the
first Christopher Doheny Award winner, Michelle Bailat-Jones,” said Laura
Colebank, Partner at Tantor Media, which will publish the novel in print,
ebook and CD formats. “We’re excited to help literary fans discover this
talented author’s work in all formats.”
The winner of The Christopher Doheny Award, awarded annually, will demonstrate
high literary standards while exploring the impact of illness on the patient,
family and friends, and others. In recognition that authors frequently need
support during the writing process, both manuscripts in process and completed
manuscripts are eligible. Submissions are now welcome for this year’s award at
DohenyAward@audible.com; deadline for submitted documents is October 30, 2014.
About Christopher Doheny (March 24, 1981 – February 20, 2013)
Chris Doheny joined Audible as a summer intern in 2002, just a few years after
the company was founded. After graduating from Georgetown University in 2003,
he returned to Audible and spent the next eight years helping to build the
company. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was just seven months old,
Chris strived to live as normal a life as possible. Chris received a double
lung transplant in June 2010. He died on February 20, 2013.
To make an online donation to The Christopher Doheny Award, please visit
http://www.centerforfiction.org/awards/the-christopher-doheny-award/.
Donations to support the award may also be mailed to:
The Christopher Doheny Award c/o The Mercantile Library
The Center for Fiction
17 E. 47th Street
New York, NY 10017
ABOUT AUDIBLE, INC.
Audible, Inc., anAmazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading
provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment on the
Internet, offering customers a new way to enhance and enrich their lives every
day. Audible’s mission is to establish literate listening as a core tool for
anyone seeking to be more productive, better informed, or more thoughtfully
entertained. Audible content includes more than 150,000 audio programs from
leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and
newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Audible is also the
preeminent provider of spoken-word audio products for Apple’s iTunes® Store.
ABOUT TANTOR
Tantor Media, Inc. is a leading independent publisher of thousands of
bestsellingauthors and award-winning titles, located in Old Saybrook, CT.
Tantor titles are available directly from tantor.com and through all
majorretailers and distributors.
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR FICTION
The Center for Fiction is the only non-profit literary organization in the
United States devoted solely to this vital art form. With all its resources,
including an exceptional book collection, great writing classes, an expanding
website, and an ever-growing array of creative events and awards, The Center
seeks to serve the reading public, to build a larger audience for fiction, and
to create a place both in its beautiful building in New York and online where
readers and writers can share their passion for literature.
www.centerforfiction.org.
Contact:
Audible.com
Matthew Thornton, 973-820-0402
mthornton@audible.com